Podcast: 'Waddle & Silvy Show'

San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh joined "Waddle & Silvy" and discusses the impact Marc Trestman had on his coaching career. Listen

"Everything wouldn't be an overstatement," Harbaugh said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "We use his system still of calling plays and the way he taught us those concepts and techniques. I've used (those) since I coached with the Raiders, the University of San Diego, Stanford and the 49ers.

"He will do great and talk about long overdue. Marc Trestman becoming a head coach is well deserved, he will do a phenomenal job."

Harbaugh's first NFL coaching job came as quality control coach for the offense with the Oakland Raiders in 2002, and he reported directly to Trestman, the offensive coordinator. Harbaugh, a former Bears quarterback, went on to head-coaching jobs in college at San Diego and Stanford before landing the 49ers job in 2011.

Harbaugh took the Niners to the NFC Championship Game in his first season and led them to the Super Bowl last season, losing to brother John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens.

Asked if the Bears hit a home run with their hire of Trestman, Harbaugh said: "Absolutely. Grand slam. That was a grand slam hire. You see the coaches that Marc has put around him, they know football. He knows football. He's a great teacher and I think that's coaching right there. ...

"That's something I learned working with Marc, by example and by things that he would tell me. That's one of my lucky breaks in coaching was to work with Marc Trestman because he took the time to train me and to teach me. And I will always be thankful for that."

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Chicago Bears announced Saturday that they had reached an agreement with Alabama receivers coach Mike Groh to hold the same position with the Bears, completing the staff of new head coach Marc Trestman.

In addition to his duties as receivers coach at Alabama, Groh served for the past two seasons as the Crimson Tide’s recruiting coordinator as the school won back-to-back national championships. He also spent time as quarterbacks coach at Louisville (2010) and worked at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, from 2001-08.

Groh worked with receivers in his first two years at Virginia before adding quarterbacks to his duties in 2003. From 2004-05, he worked with the quarterbacks exclusively and took over as offensive coordinator for the following three seasons.

He started his coaching career in 2000 as offensive assistant/quality control coach for the New York Jets.

Groh played quarterback at Virginia, where he was the starter from 1994-95. He is the only quarterback in school history to lead the Cavaliers to nine victories and a bowl win in consecutive seasons.

The Chicago Bears announced the hiring Tuesday of offensive quality control coaches Brendan Nugent and Carson Walch.

Nugent worked under new Bears coach Marc Trestman with the Montreal Alouettes in 2012 as an assistant on special teams and offensive quality control coach. Prior to joining the Alouettes, Nugent worked for five seasons (2001-11) at William & Mary as running backs and tight ends coach.

Nugent began his college coaching career at the University of Iowa as an undergraduate assistant working with the offense.

Walch also worked for Trestman in Montreal. In 2012, Walch served as receivers coach after working the two years prior as a quality control coach in charge of special teams.

Before joining the Alouettes, Walch worked three seasons (2007-09) at his alma mater Winona State.

The choice of Marc Trestman comes as a surprise to many, since he has been out of the league since 2004, but given how well prepared Phil Emery has been, are you going to doubt the choice?

Trestman comes in and takes over a team that is competitive even if their inability to consistently make the playoffs has left the Bears irrelevant come January. What does he have to work with? And what pieces of the puzzle are the Bears missing?

Let's take a look.

QuarterbackThe Bears paid a hefty price to make Jay Cutler their franchise quarterback and the results have been largely mixed. At times he's displayed the kind of talent that would make even Phil Simms want to use the word "elite," but all too often accuracy issues and carelessness with the ball have come back to haunt him.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- With losses in four of the past five games and speculation that his job might be in jeopardy if the Chicago Bears don't make the playoffs, coach Lovie Smith said Monday he is OK with his future being tied to his win-loss record.

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Everyone could use a little Mike Tice in their lives.

You think those pants make you look fat? Ask Tice.

"You look like 10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound sack. Take those off."

Not sure about that best man speech? Listen to Tice.

"Don't lead with that Tijuana anecdote. You sound like a moron. What's wrong with you? Your grandma is here."

Unsure if there's an open competition at left tackle for the team you cover? Tice will set you straight.

"I know it rained. Did you not go to the game? You went to the game right? OK, you saw the same thing I saw. I have trouble sleeping at night until I know that our quarterback is protected."

The first two quotes are made up. The last one is all too real.

Tice is Joe Biden with a Long Island accent, a giant-sized Joan Rivers with the practice field his red carpet. You might remember him as the permissive Minnesota Vikings coach who scalped his Super Bowl tickets and always had a pencil behind his ear, but he could be a godsend to a Chicago Bears team unable to find a consistent offensive identity, even with Jay Cutler under center.

For the Bears' offensive players, Tice is a refreshing change, in several ways, from the man he replaced at the offensive coordinator position, Mike Martz. For reporters, Tice is the Last Honest Man in a business where obfuscation with the media is the standard.

BOURBONNAIS -- While Chicago Bears first-year general manager Phil Emery talked methodically about Phase I and Phase II of the transition period; joked about the upgrade in housing from when he was an area scout, complete with couch and easy chair; and reflected on an offseason that may even give him the right to sit back in that easy chair; Lovie Smith stepped into the hot white glare of expectation Tuesday.

Entering the last year of his contract and given a roster heading into training camp that everyone, including his players, is saying is of Super Bowl quality, Smith does not have the luxury to talk about Phase I, Phase II or least of all, furniture.

But just when you expected Smith, in his usual stoic manner, to do his usual job of deflecting what everyone really wants to know, he actually heaped even more of a burden on his team in his opening press conference under the gazebo at Olivet Nazarene University.

"As we look at our roster coming into camp," Smith said, "it looks about as good as it has since I've been here. We realize that, we embrace that. We have a good football team. . . . "

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The first attempt by the Chicago Bears to hire a former member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved unfruitful, but that won't stop the team from speaking with former Bucs quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt about the same position, according to a source.

The Bears plan to interview Van Pelt sometime this week, according to the source. But it's unclear where the meeting will take place because as of Monday evening, Bears coach Lovie Smith hadn't yet returned to the Chicago area. Smith owns a home in the Tampa area, and it's likely his meeting with Van Pelt could take place there.

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Chicago Bears assuaged concerns about the potential departure of offensive coordinator Mike Tice on Monday with an announcement that the coach is no longer in the running for the Oakland Raiders head coaching job.

The Chicago Bears have narrowed their list of candidates for offensive line coach to "five or six," including recently hired University of Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Bob Bostad and former St. Louis Rams offensive line coach Steve Loney, according to a source.

Apparently, recently promoted Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice could be in line for another bump up the coaching chain, as the Oakland Raiders are scheduled to bring him in Tuesday for an interview, according to an NFL source.

The Raiders requested permission from the Bears to interview Tice for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday, according to sources.